Raynham soldier injured in IED explosion

A local soldier seriously injured in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan received a special visit from some of his favorite Red Sox players when they showed up at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Army Sgt. Brandon Korona, of Raynham, said he was ecstatic to spend some time with his hometown heroes.

Korona spent most of the past 10 months at the hospital recovering from the bomb blast, and the visit from his sports idols was just what the doctor ordered.

"To actually meet them and hang out with them and talking to them, it was surreal," he said. "It was really cool."

Last week after the White House visit, the Boston Red Sox went to Walter Reed Medical Center to spend some time with wounded soldiers like Korona.

"You idolize these people and they come in and they are like, 'Hey what's going on? What are you doing,'" Korona said.

The Celtics also stopped by the hospital before their game with the Washington Wizards, and Rajon Rondo even pulled a fast one and refused to take a photograph with Korona.

"He looked at me and was like, 'Dude, I'm just kidding. April Fool's,'" he said. "So they got me. It was pretty funny."

Korona has come a long way from June 2013 in Afghanistan where he barely survived the 200-pound roadside bomb.

"I can't forget that day," he said. "I remember every single day of it."

His left leg was so badly shattered it was almost amputated.A Purple Heart recipient, Korona has been in and out of surgery and therapy ever since.

The incredible moment of meeting his sports idols was captured in photographs.

"I thanked every single one of them and they turned right back to me and said, 'No, thank you,'" he said.

Korona returns to Washington on Wednesday.

Injured soldier gets visit from Boston athletes

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Lori Korona

A local soldier seriously injured in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan received a special visit from some of his favorite Red Sox players when they showed up at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.